A Charmed Christmas Carol
by Baby Halliwell
Summary: Based on the story A Christmas Carol. The Charmed Ones are visited by three spirits who show them the meaning of Christmas.


A Charmed Christmas Carol Part one- The ghost of Christmas Past  
  
Christmas Eve had come to the Halliwell house. All was calm for the first time in ages, no demons to vanquish, no spells gone awry, and no sisterly feuds. Piper and Leo were trimming the tree. They wanted everything to be perfect for Wyatt's first Christmas. Paige sat quietly reading A Christmas Carol to Wyatt who was nearly asleep. Somewhere upstairs Phoebe was wrapping the last of the gifts. She'd left her shopping to last minute as usual. Chris had left earlier saying he had something to take care of. Piper placed the last of Grams' antique ornaments on the tree and stood back admiring the tree with pride. Leo smiled. He was happy to be able to spend a few uninterrupted moments with his family. He stepped closer to Piper and slipped his arm around her shoulders. Piper let her head rest on Leo's shoulder. Despite all that had happened they were still close. Paige glanced up at them and smiled. She didn't want to interrupt but Wyatt was getting heavy in her arms now that he'd drifted off to dreamland. "Piper?" Piper turned. "Yes Paige?" "Are you going to put Wyatt to bed? He's asleep." Piper let go of Leo and picked up her sleeping son. He really was an angel when he slept. Leo bent and kissed Wyatt before orbing out. Silently Piper carried Wyatt to his bed. She placed him in his crib and covered him with his little blanket. For a few moments she watched her son with a love and pride that only a mother could know.  
Phoebe added a bow to the top of her last Christmas gift. She smiled to herself. She had pretended to leave her shopping to the last minute so her sisters would truly be surprised on Christmas morning. In reality she'd had the gifts hidden in her room for weeks. This Christmas was going to be special. Picking up the gifts Phoebe headed downstairs to put them under the tree. Paige was placing some gifts under the tree when she reached the living room. "Merry Christmas Paige." Phoebe whispered. Paige smiled at her older sister. "Merry Christmas Pheebs." When all the gifts had been arranged, the two sisters stood arm in arm admiring the tree. Phoebe sighed contentedly. "Piper and Leo did a great job on the tree." Piper returned. She wordlessly slipped in beside Phoebe and put her arm around her little sisters. As the three sisters stood there in front of their Christmas tree, a feeling of loving calmness fell over the house.  
A bright white light filled the room behind the sisters. When they turned to see what it was, they found themselves face to face with Grams. "Grams!" They all cried out at once. "Merry Christmas, My Darlings." She longed to throw her arms around her beautiful Grand-daughters, but she had not come here tonight as a Grandmother. She had come to show them something. "Grams, how did you get here?" Piper asked. "No time to worry about that dear. I have much to show you and very little time. Come on, My Darlings, take my hands." Grams replied. With that Piper and Phoebe took Grams' hands, each of them holding one of Paige's forming a circle.  
The bright light reappeared and they found themselves in the kitchen of the manor watching a younger version of Piper and their beloved Prue icing cookies with Grams. "What are we doing here Grams?" Whispered Phoebe. "Don't worry Phoebe. They can't see us or hear us. You are just here to watch." Grams explained. Little Prue was smearing icing on a tree shaped cookie. She reached over for the can of sprinkles and accidentally got green icing on Piper's angel cookie. Piper started to cry. "Look what you did Prue. You ruined my angel." "I did not!" Prue shot back. Past Grams tried to comfort Little Piper. "Prue didn't mean to do that Piper. It was an accident." Just then Patty entered the room carrying Baby Phoebe in her arms. She stopped when she saw tears on sweet Little Piper's cheeks. "What's wrong Piper?" "Prue ruined my angel Mommy." Piper sobbed. Patty patted Piper's head and smiled. "I'll help you fix it." Piper brightened up. "Prue, did you tell Piper you were sorry?" Patty asked her eldest daughter. Prue reached out and hugged Piper. "I'm sorry Piper." Patty handed Baby Phoebe to Past Grams. "Phoebe will not go to sleep. She's excited about her first Christmas." Baby Phoebe giggled and tugged on Past Grams' necklace. Phoebe smiled at her sisters. "Look at me. Aren't I just adorable?" Piper and Paige smiled. Patty started helping Piper make a new angel cookie and Prue was now adding green sprinkles to her tree cookie. Grams turned to the real sisters. "It's time to go now, My Darlings. We have another Christmas to visit." Re- forming their circle by holding hands, the sisters were transported through time to yet another Christmas Eve.  
A brightly lit tree was standing in the corner and there were three little girls sitting near it. Little Prue had a tablet in her hands and was writing as Piper talked. "Tell Santa that we don't want any presents Prue. All we want is Mommy back." Little Phoebe layed her head on Little Piper's shoulder. "Mommy come back." All three Halliwell sister's had tears in their eyes watching this scene. Piper remembered that Christmas well. It had been the first one since their mother had died. Phoebe couldn't remember, but she could sense the pain the littler version of herself was feeling. Paige felt so sorry for them. She couldn't imagine what it had been like for them to lose their mother. As a tear slid down Piper's cheek she turned to Grams. "Can we go now Grams? This is too sad." Grams took her grand-daughters' hands once again.  
Soon they were watching themselves as they had been just a few years earlier. Past Piper and Past Phoebe were curled in each other's arms on the couch. Piper recognized the scene immediately. It was the year Prue had died. Phoebe turned her head away. "Grams I can't watch this." "You have to. It's important." Phoebe reluctantly watched her past self crying into Piper's shoulder. Past Piper sobbed holding her sister close. There were very few decorations around the room. It was as though they had almost forgotten it was Christmas. Suddenly Past Phoebe pulled away from Piper. "We should make some cookies or something. Cole and Leo will be expecting them." Past Piper knew Past Phoebe was right. But she couldn't stand the thought of making cookies without Prue. They had always done that together. Piper started to cry watching this. Phoebe held her older sister's hand. "You know Piper, I wouldn't have survived that Christmas without you." Piper squeezed Phoebe's hand. "And I couldn't have survived it without you." Past Phoebe was now standing. "Maybe we should ask Paige to come over for Christmas dinner. She's going to be alone too." Past Piper nodded. "I guess we should be together. She is our sister too. But she can never take Prue's place." Paige grimaced as she heard this. She had always thought she was being paranoid about her sisters comparing her to Prue. To hear it actually said was like a dagger in her heart. Piper turned to Paige. "I didn't know you then Paige. I didn't mean it." Grams took hold of their hands once again. "It's time to go now."  
The sisters found themselves back in their own time. They let go of each other and wiped the tears from their faces. "Why did you show us that, Grams?" Phoebe asked. Grams touched her cheek. "There is not much I can tell you, except I was sent to show you those specific moments. Two more visitors will come tonight and show you more. Just pay close attention to what they show you and you will do fine." She reached out and embraced her grand-daughters one last time and then disappeared in a bright white light.  
  
A Charmed Christmas Carol Part two-The Ghost of Christmas Present  
  
Just as things were winding down after the experience they had all shared, another bright white light filled the room. Phoebe and Piper gasped and stared in disbelief. Paige looked at the woman standing in front of them and tried to figure out what the big deal was. Her face was vaguely familiar, but she didn't know who it was. The woman smiled at them and held out her arms. "Is that anyway to greet your sister?" It was Prue. Piper and Phoebe stumbled into Prue's arms, blinded by their tears. Prue hugged her sisters close. She had missed them terribly. Paige was trying to come to grips with the situation. After just hearing Piper say she couldn't take Prue's place and now witnessing this display of sisterly affection that she wasn't part of, Paige was starting to feel like an outsider again. Prue looked up at Paige with a tender expression on her face. "You must be Paige. I'm sorry I never got to meet you." Paige nodded, unsure of what to say. Prue gently pushed her younger sisters back. "As glad as I am to see you, we don't have time to waste. Take my hands. Piper and Phoebe each took hold of one of Prue's hands. Paige stayed where she was. She wasn't sure what to do. Prue looked at her intently. "Come on Paige. You're part of this family too." Paige smiled. Prue obviously wasn't jealous about Paige being with her sisters when she couldn't. Paige stepped between Piper and Phoebe and took their hands as the white light engulfed them.  
The sisters found themselves standing outside P3. "What are we doing here Prue?" Piper asked. Prue silently pointed to the alley. The sisters moved forward peering into the dark alley. Before long they saw a teenage girl followed by two smaller girls. Their clothes and faces were dirty. The littlest one was clinging to the teenage girls jacket. "I'm hungry, Steffie." The older girl touched the younger one's shoulder. "Just a minute Sweetie. We'll eat soon." The older girl pulled something from her pocket and proceeded to pick the lock on the clubs back door. Within seconds the door swung open. The three girls marched inside. The Halliwell sisters stared in disbelief. Prue turned to them. "We have to go inside." Prue grabbed hold of Piper and Phoebe's hands. Piper and Phoebe held on to Paige and they soon were standing in the middle of P3. They watched in silence as the younger girls climbed onto barstools and the older one rummaged behind the bar. The teenager quickly found the only food the club had to offer, pretzels and nuts. She placed them in front of the little girls. "Here you go. Didn't I tell you we wouldn't starve? Big sis will always take care of you." Phoebe spoke for the first time since observing this sad scene. "This is so sad Prue." Where are their parents?" As if in answer to her question, one of the little girls started to talk. "Why can't we go find Mommy, Steffie? It's Christmas." Steffie sighed and brushed some crumbs off the bar. "I told you Molly, Mommy's sick. She can't take care of us anymore. And besides Ray is still there." With the mention of that name the younger sisters tensed. The littlest girl stared at her older sister. "Ray is really mean." Steffie touched her sister's face. "He won't ever hurt us again, Lily. I won't let him." Piper turned to Prue. "Are we supposed to help them Prue?" Prue shook her head. "I don't know, Piper. I was only sent here to show you." Paige turned to her sisters, nearly crying. "We have to help them, whether we are meant to or not. They're just kids." The others nodded. Prue once again was reaching for her sisters' hands. It was time to go. There was more to see.  
The sisters were soon standing in a small apartment in Hong Kong. Jason's apartment. Jason was sitting at his desk staring at a picture of Phoebe. Phoebe seemed confused. Jason touched the picture of Phoebe. "If only I could figure you out Phoebe Halliwell." Phoebe moved closer to Jason. If only he could know she was there. She realized suddenly that she desperately wanted to confide in him, tell him her secrets. But it was too much of a risk. Jason spoke again. "I know you love me. And I love you. So just what exactly is it that keeps us at a distance?" Phoebe turned to Prue. "You know things that we don't. Should I tell Jason that I'm a witch?" Prue smiled at her little sister. "I can't tell you that Phoebe. You have to make that decision on your own." Phoebe frowned. "Some help you are Prue." They were falling back into their usual pattern of little arguments. Even death couldn't change the bond they had. Piper smiled. She would soon be refereeing their verbal sparing match. Paige just watched her sisters. She wanted desperately know Prue the way Piper and Phoebe did. If Prue hadn't died and they had met, would she have treated her as she did them? Would Paige have relied on Prue the way Piper and Phoebe had? Prue's voice brought her back from her reverie. "It's time to go. We have one more stop to make." The sisters resumed their circle. Just before leaving, Phoebe blew a kiss to Jason and whispered. "I love you Jason Dean."  
The sisters found themselves standing in the nursery. Wyatt was sleeping gently in his crib. Everything was quiet. Prue looked at the sleeping boy and then beamed at Piper. "He really is amazing Piper. You have done such a great job." Paige suddenly felt a little sorry for Prue. Sure, Prue had known Phoebe and Piper longer, but she had missed so much. She had never gotten to hold her nephew. Never seen him smile at her. And there would be so many other things she wouldn't have. Wyatt would never hug her or call her Auntie Prue. Paige finally realized just how lucky she was. Suddenly Leo orbed in. "Leo!" Piper gasped. Phoebe giggled. "He can't see you Piper. This is still part of the Christmas tour." The sisters watched as Leo picked up his sleeping son and sat down in the rocking chair. He smiled at the boy and began talking to him. "I'm always going to be here for you, even though your Mom and I won't be together anymore. I will always love you and your Mom." Then Chris orbed in. "What are you doing here Leo? You are supposed to be up there." Leo shot Chris a look of contempt. "I'm spending a little quality time with my son. What are you doing here?" Leo returned Wyatt to the crib as Chris explained. "I was looking for the sisters. I can't find them anywhere." Leo turned to Chris. "They were just downstairs a minute ago. Is something wrong?" Chris shook his head. "No. I just wanted to give them their gifts from me." Leo seemed slightly amused at this. Chris didn't seem like the kind of guy who would give gifts. Leo couldn't help wondering what the gifts could be. Prue held out her hands. "It's time to go. You have to be back on your own plane when they get to the living room." The sisters held hands and were soon back in the front of their Christmas tree. Phoebe and Piper held on to Prue almost crushing her with their embrace. They couldn't bear to let her go. Prue hugged her sisters close. "I have to go. I'll always be watching over you. I love you both very much." Piper and Phoebe were now sobbing uncontrollably. "Please Prue, don't go." Phoebe begged. Prue managed to wiggle out of her sisters' arms. "I wish I didn't have to go. But we can't change how things are." Prue turned to Paige. "Take care of them Paige. They need you more than either of them will ever admit." Paige smiled. "I'll look after them Prue. You can trust me." Prue quickly hugged Paige. "Don't forget Paige. You're my baby sister too. I love you." Now it was Paige's turn to cry. She truly felt like part of the family for the first time. Piper and Phoebe stood holding on to each other crying. Paige stepped back and wrapped her arms around them as Prue disappeared in the beautiful white light.  
Leo and Chris bounded down the stairs. Seeing the sisters in their distressed state, the two men rushed to their side. "What's wrong?" Leo's concern was undeniable. Piper wiped her eyes and let go of her sisters. "Just ghosts of Christmas." Leo didn't understand what she meant. The two younger Halliwells were now smiling. Poor Leo was always left out of the loop these days. Chris turned to the sisters. "I wanted to give you my gifts. You can open them now." He handed a small box to each one of them. They each opened them to find a silver bracelet inside with their name engraved on it. Phoebe held hers up and smiled. "It's lovely. Thank you Chris." Piper and Paige chimed in. "Thank you Chris." Chris smiled. "It's inscribed on the back." Paige turned hers over and read. "P3 Forever."  
  
A Charmed Christmas Carol Part three-The Ghost of Christmas Future  
  
Leo had orbed away to resume his duties as an elder and Chris had gone off somewhere to do who knows what, leaving the three Halliwell sisters alone once again. The bright light filled the room once again. "This is starting to get old." Paige remarked. Piper and Phoebe laughed. Soon standing before them was Melinda, Piper's daughter from her alternate future. Piper stared at the little girl in disbelief. "How can this be?" Melinda smiled. "Just because I haven't been born, doesn't mean I don't exist Mommy." "Does this mean you will be born?" Piper was hoping the youngster wouldn't know the rules and would reveal the future. Melinda laughed. "You'll see." Phoebe and Paige snickered. Apparently the souls of children didn't posses child-like innocence. Melinda held out her hands. "You know how it goes by now." Piper took one of Melinda's little hands and Paige took the other. Phoebe stepped between her sisters and held on to them as they were transported through time once again.  
Soon the group was standing in the kitchen of the manor. The three sisters watched in silence. There were numerous children scattered about the room. A handsome blonde boy of about twelve was seated at the table helping twin little brown haired girls decorate cookies. He devilishly smeared some icing on the nose of one of them. She screamed. "Wyatt! I'm gonna get you for that!" Soon both little girls were smearing icing on Wyatt. Wyatt was shrieking. "Prue! Melinda! Stop! Mom's going to kill us!" Across the room two dark-haired children were watching this and laughing. Future Paige entered the kitchen carrying a blonde haired baby girl. Seeing the mess her nieces and nephew were making, Future Paige went into Mommy mode. "Knock it off you guys. Piper's on her way in here." The three quickly started cleaning up the icing. There was no way they were going to finish before Future Piper came in, so Future Paige turned to Wyatt. "Wyatt, hold Kylie for a minute and I'll get rid of the mess." Wyatt took his little cousin from Future Paige. Future Paige recited a spell she had used often. "Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the seen to be unseen." The mess magically disappeared. The two dark haired children moved toward the table and stood at Future Paige's side. The boy spoke. "Auntie Paige, you aren't supposed to use your magic like that." "Yeah, Auntie Piper is going to be mad at you." Future Paige smiled down at her niece and nephew. "Auntie Piper can't be mad if she doesn't know. What do you say we keep this our secret?" The two children nodded. Just then Future Piper entered the kitchen and all the children began to giggle. Future Piper sensed something was amiss. "What's going on in here?" All the children tried to hide their glee as they lied to Future Piper. "Nothing." Paige knew Piper wouldn't believe it. "We were just making cookies." Future Piper turned away from the guilty looking group and called out to her other sister. "Phoebe!" The children all became serious. Phoebe could read them and she'd know they were keeping a secret. Future Phoebe entered the kitchen. "What's wrong Piper?" Future Piper gave her sister the something's-going-on-look. Future Phoebe nodded and moved closer to the table. "Before I use my powers on you guys, does anyone want to tell me what's going on?" No one spoke. Future Phoebe turned to the dark haired children. "Dean, Penny, are you going to tell Mommy what's going on?" Dean shook his head. Penny tried hard not to look her mother in the eye. "Can't Mommy. It's a secret." It took her a few minutes to sort out the jumbled emotions. She smiled and turned to Future Piper. "I think it's harmless." She turned to Future Paige. "And besides you can't keep a secret long in this house." Wyatt held the baby girl up to Paige. "Go back to Mommy Kylie." Paige lifted her little girl into her arms.  
The sisters had been watching the scene in utter amazement. It was weird seeing them selves older. Not to mention seeing their children. Phoebe grabbed Piper's hand. "Your daughters are beautiful." Piper smiled. "Melinda and Prue. I knew I'd name them that." She squeezed Phoebe's hand. "Look at your children. They're beautiful too." Phoebe smiled. Her son was handsome and her little girl was a smaller version of herself. Paige put her head on Piper's shoulder. "And look at my little girl! She's adorable!" Melinda turned to the sisters and held out her hands. "Time to hop the time travel express." The sister sighed, not wanting to leave the happy scene. They formed their now familiar traveling circle and were once again transported.  
The Halliwell sisters found themselves in the living room of the manor. In front of them was the biggest, brightest, most beautiful Christmas tree they had ever seen. There were stacks of gifts all over the floor. "Wow!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Looks like we went overboard." Piper noted. Just then Future Phoebe and Future Piper entered the room. They appeared to be in their late forties. All three sisters were shocked to see this. "What time will Wyatt and Sam be coming in tonight?" Future Phoebe asked. "Around 10. They took a late flight. Which means the kids will be asleep when they get here." Future Piper answered. Phoebe squeezed her sister's arm as they sat on the couch. "At least all of your kids will be home for Christmas. Dean's so busy he won't be able to make it." Future Piper patted her sister's knee. "I'm sorry Pheebs." Future Phoebe shrugged. "That's life. Where's Paige?" Future Piper picked up a note from the stand and handed it to Future Phoebe. "She went off to pick up Kylie from College. She's gonna make that girl come home even if it kills her." Future Phoebe laughed. "I didn't think anyone could be as willful as Paige, but Kylie's definitely got her beat." Future Piper laughed. "They are two of a kind." The two sister's looked up as Future Melinda, Future Prue, and Future Penny entered the room. "Hey Mom. Hey Aunt Pheebs." The twins called out. Piper couldn't help but admire her daughters. They were absolutely beautiful. "Are you hungry? We made cookies." The young women laughed. "No thanks. We're just going to turn in." Future Prue said, leaning in to kiss her mother goodnight. Future Melinda kissed her mother as well and then followed her sister upstairs. Future Penny hugged and kissed her mother. "Are you feeling ok Mom? You look sad?" Future Phoebe nodded at her daughter. "I'm fine Sweetie. Just tired." Future Penny patted her mother's knee and headed upstairs. Future Piper and Future Phoebe watched them go. Future Phoebe leaned her head on Future Piper's shoulder. "Do you remember when they were little? How much they loved Christmas?" Piper sighed. "We couldn't keep them children forever." Just then Future Paige orbed in practically strangling Future Kylie. "Hold still you little brat." Future Kylie was trying to free herself from her mother's grasp. "Let me go Mom! I told you I hate this stupid family Christmas crap." Future Paige let go of her daughter with an exasperated look on her face. "Don't you dare orb out of here young lady. I'll just orb your little butt back here. I'll bind your powers if I have to." Future Kylie rolled her eyes. She turned to her Aunts. "Will you two tell her to chill?" Future Phoebe and Future Piper smiled at their niece. "I don't think she's going to give in Kylie." Piper laughed. Kylie grunted and stormed out of the room. Future Paige sank into the couch with a loud sigh. "That girl, Ugh!" Piper, and Phoebe were practically falling over laughing at this. Paige pinched them both roughly. "It's not funny guys. You see what I have to look forward to." Phoebe gasped through her laughter. "She's just like you Paige!" Paige did not see the humor in this. Melinda was now reaching for them again. They managed to compose themselves and prepare for the next move.  
The sisters found themselves once again in the living room of the manor. Something was wrong. There was no tree. There were no decorations. They couldn't smell anything baking. There was an eerie echo to the house. It seemed empty. "What's going on?" Piper asked. Melinda only stood there with a blank expression on her face. Then a much older Piper entered the room. Piper gasped at seeing herself. She had to be nearly eighty. Future Piper made her way slowly to the couch. It took her a few minutes to sit due to her arthritis. Then the phone rang. Future Piper picked up the phone and answered. "Hello? Phoebe? How's Florida?" Phoebe couldn't believe it. She had left the manor. Future Piper continued to talk. "No I didn't see the point. The kids are not coming home. Oh, I know that Pheebs. I understand." Piper found it unbearably depressing watching her older self spending Christmas alone. As Future Piper hung up the phone, Future Kylie orbed in. Piper nudged Paige. "Guess she takes after you." Future Kylie hugged Future Piper and sat next to her. "Merry Christmas Aunt Piper. I brought you some cookies." She handed a box to Future Piper. "Thank you dear. How's your mother?" She inquired. Future Kylie shrugged. "We don't really talk anymore. I guess she's ok." Just then Future Paige orbed in. Future Kylie turned to her aunt and kissed her. "I gotta go. I'll see you soon." Future Kylie orbed out. Future Paige seated herself next Future Piper. "She's still mad at me." Future Piper patted Future Paige's arm. "You need to sit down and talk about it with her." Future Paige winced. "I don't know how to talk to her anymore, Piper." Melinda reached for the sisters' hands. "You've seen enough. It's time to go." They reluctantly allowed Melinda to transport them back to their own time. They were all wondering how the future could have turned out like that.  
Back in their own time once again, the sisters turned to Melinda. "What was the point of all of this?" Piper asked. "Don't you understand by now? We all came here to teach you a lesson. Family is everything. Don't ever let it go without a fight." Piper finally understood. She had told her sisters they could leave. Now she had to ask them to stay. They all said good-bye to Melinda and sat down together in front of the tree. Piper tried to work out a way to keep the family together, so her future wouldn't be so lonely. Phoebe was focusing on the happier things she had seen. She couldn't stop thinking about her children. Paige was thinking of how they could help the homeless children Prue had shown them. Around one in the morning the sisters, exhausted from the night's ordeal, fell asleep right there on the floor cuddled up to each other. Chris orbed in and covered them with one of Grams' quilts. He walked toward the doorway, turned and whispered. "Merry Christmas." The end. 


End file.
